


High and Dry

by greerwatson



Series: ITOWverse: Swim Challenge [4]
Category: RENAULT Mary - Works
Genre: Gen, ITOWverse, Metafiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-31
Updated: 2010-08-31
Packaged: 2018-05-19 20:57:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5980726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greerwatson/pseuds/greerwatson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thalia and Alexias bring their family for a summery visit to the ITOWverse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	High and Dry

**Author's Note:**

> This series was written for the 2010 Summer Challenge on the [maryrenaultfics](http://maryrenaultfics.livejournal.com/) LiveJournal community, to the prompt “swim”.

The Secretary spent the morning in the Library, browsing the latest stories posted to the community by its members.  That was an unusually suggestive story from **fawatson** about the life of Theseus (or his father):  “the cleft of her lush buttocks”, indeed!  From **toujours_nigel** … that would be something about Alexander, of course!  Except that, surprisingly, she found herself reading instead about Laurie’s schooldays.  (Of course, he _had_ been a swimmer.)  The next story was from … _Purposes of Love_?!! 

Really, no one was writing the story she’d been expecting.

Suddenly she looked up, startled by voices in the hall.  Her sense of duty compelled her to close the laptop, and go out to see what was going on.

Children—mostly rather _small_ children—seemed to be everywhere.  In charge was Thalia.  The Secretary spotted her near the door, hampered by a large bag and the baby in her arms, but trying to keep her brood from straying upstairs.  Having, in life, had young relations, the Secretary moved in, shepherding them off to the kitchen.  Sticky toffees worked wonders (apart from dribbly chins).

“We thought we’d make a day of it,” Thalia confided.  “Everyone’s been miserable with the winter; they could do with a change.  It was my husband’s idea.”

“Where is he?” asked the Secretary.

“Side-tracked,” Thalia said, with a wry smile.  “Men take small children in small doses, don’t they?”  She shifted them out the back door quickly, before they could start to explore the novelties of the kitchen; and the Secretary followed.  Christmas had seen only a few familiar youngsters from the books:  she had not realized quite how large a family Alexias and Thalia had.

Thalia headed for the porch, found a seat, and set down the bag and the baby.  Out came a hank of wool and a spindle.  She started to work, with the baby at her feet.  The children scattered.

The Secretary looked across the meadow.  “Thalia, I don’t know whether you noticed it on your way in, but we have a pond now.  Over there.”  She pointed.  Already two of the boys were halfway to the water, eager to explore. 

They were not _that_ old:  they needed someone in charge. 

“But they can swim, of course.”  It was a moment before she realized that she must have said that out loud; but Thalia was looking at her, surprised.

“Swim?”

“The children.   Can swim.”

“No, of course not.”

“What?!” 

Startled, Thalia saw the Secretary rush towards the pond, collect the boys, and head for the willow.  Wondering at the extremity of the other woman’s alarm, Thalia packed her work back in the bag, picked up the baby, took the toddler by the hand, and followed her.  She came up in time to hear her husband being ordered sharply to give the children swimming lessons.

“If they can’t swim, they can’t play by the pond, and that’s final,” said the Secretary.  “Kids get killed in lakes and swimming pools every year, even when people think they’re keeping an eye on them.”

She headed back to the house, the Library, and the laptop, pausing to mention that it might not be a bad idea if someone arranged a picnic lunch.

**Author's Note:**

> The stories referred to in the first paragraph were all written by other members of [maryrenaultfics](http://maryrenaultfics.livejournal.com/) for the 2010 Summer Challenge (to the prompt "swim"): fawatson's ["Destiny's Journey"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1919955), toujours_nigel's ["At Swim, Two Boys"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/422951), and queen_ypolita's ["Diving"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/110255).
> 
> The mysterious pond in this series is the summer development of the area of frozen ice that appeared in the Christmas ITOWverse series.


End file.
